# Host controls

The Host controls are available when Meeting mode is active, and they help you run a productive collaboration session.

### Turn on Meeting Mode

Select 'Start Meeting' at the top of the board:

<figure><img src="/files/XJle5kgSrXA6YWGhye6T" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Meeting controls

Click on the 'Meeting In Progress' status indicator at the top of the board.

<figure><img src="/files/AHjQBi250oZNoB4AVCqp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<table><thead><tr><th width="228">Meeting Tool</th><th>Function</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Change Tools</td><td>Change the board tools available to meeting participants</td></tr><tr><td>Hosts</td><td>Add or remove hosts to help with your meeting</td></tr><tr><td>Private Writing</td><td>Enabled by default. Show or Hide text on participant sticky notes</td></tr><tr><td>Meeting Timer</td><td>Enable/Disable a timer for your meeting</td></tr><tr><td>Hide Identities</td><td>Create a space for candid feedback by making everyone anonymous</td></tr><tr><td>Ready Check</td><td>Provides a button for participants to mark themselves as ready</td></tr><tr><td>Run Poll</td><td>Anonymously ask your participants a question and view results</td></tr><tr><td>End Meeting</td><td>Finish the meeting</td></tr></tbody></table>

### Changing tools for meeting participants

In the Meeting Tools menu you can adjust what your participants are able to access, these options are grouped in 3 categories, Collaboration, Design, and Gestures.

If you do make any changes to our defaults, be sure to click the 'Update' button when you're done.

<figure><img src="/files/YxQN30sqPHgmIQoKmpbl" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Hide Identities

One of our Host Controls which requires special mention is Hide Identities, it allows you to make all participants anonymous, and to stop Ludi tracking what they wrote or where they voted.

<figure><img src="/files/h5FCQmICrnwq4FeOidTB" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

When Hide Identities is on:

* you can’t tell who is who
* you can’t tell who wrote a sticky note, ever!
* voting is anonymous

Hide Identities is a mode that you can turn on and off, to use whenever you need - whether for the whole session or just one activity.

#### With Hide Identities enabled

Anything written or voted on when Hide Identities is active stays that way, forever. Nothing can ever be tied back to an individual.

When you’re done, turn Hide Identities off to go back to regular mode, where all new contributions and votes are tracked again.

<table><thead><tr><th width="343.5">Regular mode</th><th>Hide Identities on</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Everyone has an avatar</td><td>All avatar pictures replaced with a single question mark</td></tr><tr><td>All sticky notes show the author</td><td>No authors</td></tr><tr><td>Individual handwriting for each person</td><td>Everyone’s handwriting is the same font</td></tr><tr><td>Can spotlight a person’s stickies and votes</td><td>Spotlight disabled in anon mode</td></tr><tr><td>Can spotlight a person's votes</td><td>All votes are anonymous</td></tr><tr><td>Can Follow other people</td><td>Following is disabled during anonymous mode</td></tr><tr><td>Export contains who wrote and voted</td><td>Export does not contain who wrote and voted while in anon mode</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Why isn’t everything always anonymous in Ludi?

In short - we don’t believe anonymity should be default for team sessions, but we recognize that anonymity can be a useful tool in certain scenarios:

* helping newer teams raise awkward issues
* reducing bias like zombie groupthink, or the HIPPO effect
* is another useful tool in a facilitators toolbox


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